IBT Staff Reporter

Oil handed back early gains to stand below $83 a barrel on Friday, but stayed within sight of an all-time high as fund buying spurred by a weak dollar provided support.

The probability of a recession in the United States has increased but is still less than 50/50, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in comments broadcast on Friday.

The dollar sank to new depths against the Euro on Thursday, the sixth straight trading session of new lows against the currency.

Oil prices surged on Thursday, posting their biggest dollar increase in nearly eight months on concerns that a storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico could impact oil production sites

Sales of new homes plunged in August and prices posted their biggest year-on-year drop in nearly 37 years, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday, underlining the depth of problems facing the housing sector.

Renewed concerns over tight supplies and expectations of strong demand in the last quarter of the year sent lead prices to a record high on Thursday, while copper rose to a two-month high on a weak dollar.

Shares of Bear Stearns Cos Inc fell 3 percent on Thursday afternoon after a CNBC report downplayed any talks between the investment bank and potential outside investors.

India's rural retail market is expected to grow by 29 percent to 1.8 trillion rupees by 2010 helped by rising incomes and changing consumption patterns, an industry body report said.

India needs to develop its market for securitised assets and allow foreigners and pension funds to invest in the sector if it wants to free up funds to finance its rapid growth, industry experts said on the Thursday.

Hotel operator Marriott International Inc said it planned to quadruple its hotels in China to 100 in the next five to six years to tap growing demand for tourism and business.

HSBC Holdings, Europe's biggest bank, is entering insurance markets in China and Taiwan as part of its broader strategy to tap the fast-growing Asian region.

U.S. stocks edged up on Thursday as higher oil prices lifted energy companies' shares in a noncommittal market faced with conflicting data on the economy's health.

The dollar fell to record lows on Thursday, hit by fresh evidence that a weak housing market could crimp U.S. growth and force the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again.

Oil rose sharply to $83 a barrel on Thursday as a weak dollar and supply worries ahead of the winter heating season encouraged buying by financial investors.

Trying to learn from missteps, execs say figuring what consumers want these days may be the advertising and media industry's top challenge.

Overcome with guilt about a sordid affair or a secret facelift? A new interactive Web site is giving people an opportunity to anonymously confess their sins online.

France Telecom and Apple are struggling to come to an agreement on the distribution of the U.S. group's iPhone in France, Challenges reported on Thursday on its website.

Microsoft's Halo 3 has dominated video game headlines this week, but if blasting aliens isn't appealing there is more on offer in other games, including role-playing the composer Frederic Chopin.

President George W. Bush signed student loan legislation on Thursday that slashes federal subsidies to lenders such as Sallie Mae, Citigroup, Bank of America and many others.Bush, who had originally called for smaller subsidy cuts, backed the more aggressive legislation drafted by Democrats that will see $11.4 billion in savings go to federal grants for college students.

Big banks try to gird for crises as a matter of course and investors will soon learn how prepared they were for this summer's credit crunch. Analysts and investors are speculating how badly Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and smaller rivals may have gotten caught by a flight from risk that caused the value of billions of dollars of mortgages and loans to evaporate.

Russia is unlikely to support new U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program until after the U.N. atomic watchdog's latest study of Iran's activities, which may not be completed until December, the French foreign minister said on Thursday.

British Airways ended decades of loyalty to Boeing's 747 jumbo with a switch to Airbus's new A380 superjumbo on Thursday as it announced a mixed plane order worth up to $8.2 billion.

It is not easy living up to the exploits of an older brother like Oscar-winner and box-office draw Ben Affleck.

U.S. workers in 401(k) retirement savings plans tend to select lower-cost mutual funds with below-average turnover, the Investment Company Institute said in a report issued on Tuesday.

Very few U.S. mutual funds put their investors first, and funds from big ones such as Fidelity Investments and Federated Investors lag in governance rankings because of weaker boards or corporate culture, a study found.

FL Group, one of the largest shareholders in AMR Corp, has urged the board of the American Airlines parent to consider strategic alternatives, including spinning off its frequent-flyer program, to boost its flagging share price.

The housing market will stay in a slump until buyers feel more confident about the economy and their own finances, and sellers are ready to accept more realistic prices.

A $25 billion takeover of Sallie Mae was on the verge of collapse on Wednesday after the student lender said a consortium does not expect to complete its planned acquisition on the agreed terms.

KB Home on Thursday posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on write-downs for land values, and revenue fell 32 percent as the swelling supply of homes and tighter mortgage standards kept potential buyers on the sidelines.